Hasta La Ideas

This school in Porto by Portuguese studio AVA Architects has lime green walls inside and out, and is filled with green furniture.

Named the Antas Education Centre, the five school buildings are arranged around a series of courtyards and playgrounds.

Black-framed windows of different shapes and sizes are scattered across the facades of each two-storey block.

A canteen is located on the ground floor, while classrooms can be found on both levels.

A lot of the schools we publish have brightly coloured facades – check out one clad in a yellow, green and white patchwork, and another with a bright red courtyard ceiling.

Photography is by José Campos, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here’s some more text from AVA Architects:

School Center Antas, Porto, Portugal

Location and Context

The site of action is part of an urban context through the recently redesigned Detailed Plan of Antas. The nearby is not defined by buildings, with only the north to the existence of a huge slope and south of the proposed construction site.

The land is entirely surrounded by streets. The area of the school is approximately 2 967.00 m2.

Idea

The spatial and architectural design of the building of the new Education Center Antas were formalized in several bodies each containing part of the program in accordance with principles of internal organization, functionality, form and image, given the type of building and its specificity.

This conception took into account the morphology of the terrain, solar orientation, access and links to surrounding bodies.

It always took account to the relationship established between spaces, between exterior and interior and between interior spaces.

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The intension is to formalize and realize the program provided through a drawing of building capable of being fragmented into several bodies interconnected with exterior spaces creating diverse environments.

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It’s a building consisting of several bodies expressed by a “simple architecture” that will build a close relationship with the exterior spaces.

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It was intended to create in the spaces between the various bodies the visual relationship between interior and exterior reducing relations with the urban surroundings.

There was an intention to turn into how the building relates to the exterior. However there are some links to the outside also.

The settlement found answers to a matrix that structuralize a functional organization of the school as a function of the planned program and constraint imposed by various land levels.

If you couldn’t make it to their on-campus Information Session/Open House last month, the new MFA Products of Design program at the School of Visual Arts invites you to attend their first-ever Virtual Open House on Monday, December 19th at 7pm.

You will have the chance to meet Department Chair (and Core77 Editor in Chief) Allan Chochinov and select faculty members including Emilie Baltz, Richard Tyson and Helen Walters, get an overview of the MFA Products of Design program, ask questions and have them answered in real time.

An open discussion and Q&A session, the Virtual Open House will feature a brief talk on the philosophy and structure of the program, reflections on the current state of design and design education, and a detailed overview of the curriculum and faculty. We’ll also delve into student life, the Visible Futures Lab making space, and career and networking opportunities. No question is too big or too small; we hope that you will join us and learn more about the program as we accept our first round of applications!

SVA MFA Products of Design
Virtual Open House
Monday, December 19 at 7pm

» REGISTER HERE

Also, the department’s got a pdf of their printed brochure up online. View it in all it’s pixel glory at issuu.

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A year ago, Aart van Bezooyen and Paula Raché decided to embark on a unique project focusing on sustainability in materials and design. Instead of the usual desk research they started planning a creative journey around the world. After a lot of thinking and pinpointing countries to visit, it was time to get an around-the-world ticket and to start writing friends and colleagues for local contacts and country information.

When we arrived in Bali, Indonesia the cab driver asked us how long we are going to stay. Four weeks we said and he burst out laughing. “What are you going to do here for four weeks?”, he asked. We did not really understand his amazement. After two weeks, the server at our favorite restaurant even had to ask us whether we had business in Bali. Contrary to what locals assumed, by the end of our four weeks we got used to the mind changing way of life on Bali and were sad to leave this beautiful island.

Hello Tourist
Indonesia is the first Asian country we visited ever. During the first days in the city of Ubud we were busy getting used to the street vendors and the chorus that followed us on the street. “What are you doing today?” “You need transport?” “You want a massage? Maybe tomorrow?” “Discount for you—good morning price for good luck..!” No matter whether you are a designer, teacher, nurse or plumber, on Bali visitors are all the same—tourists! With its swarms of street sellers and desperate taxi drivers we realized that a garden café that is both lovely and quiet is a unique proposition in Ubud. From the local newspapers we learned that the Ubud area is experiencing a growth in Eat-Pray-Love tourism, referring to the book and subsequent movie where Julia Roberts visits Bali to “find herself.” We didn’t see this movie but this is what we found.

Invisible technology meets tangible crafts

Daily Pet
During our stay in Bali we continued our list with animal sightings, or what we called, our “daily pet.” Living in bamboo huts is a different thing than our compact flat in Hamburg. Unlike doors and walls, the bamboo huts are semi-open structures that allow for natural cooling. Of course, these structures that allow air to go flow through the huts also give animals free reign, and we experienced a lot of night activity. One of the first friends we met was a frog that lived in our first accommodation. After we put out the frog the first night, he (or she?) was back on the same spot the next day.

One of our first roommates in our bamboo hut

Getting to know more animals such as birds, snails, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, bats, and the common house gecko in our hut we learned that these animals were there long before us and didn’t disturb us. Even better, after two weeks we were entertained with their daily bug catching activities and it felt like we were all living together. Honestly, it took time to appreciate these “pets” but this respect for animals and closeness with nature felt like a very harmonic and sustainable lifestyle.

Green School
One of our main goals on Bali was to visit the Green School which received a lot of attention when founder John Hardy presented a TEDx talk about “My Green School Dream” in 2010. Since then, the school has been overwhelmed with both students and teachers who want to go green which is both a blessing and a curse. After a short tour by Ben Macrory we enjoyed the “Wizard of Oz” theatre night in the midst of proud pupils and even more proud parents. The theater show was fun but the school building is amazing. The Green School is currently the largest bamboo structure in the world.

A quick shot from the backyard during Ben’s (fast forward) Green School tour

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A new software program trains aspiring pianists through interactive learning

Gaming meets Chopin with Playground Sessions, a downloadable software that teaches piano through its breakthrough “Play to Learn” approach. Riffing on the strumming-to-scoring simulation of Guitar Hero, Playground Sessions enables users to practice “in an interactive environment with real-time feedback,” backed by an interconnected keyboard and hit music library.

Created by brand invention firm, ZAG, Playground Sessions is a “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” method of self-driven learning motivated by the gaming allure of rewards and level ups. Drawn to their research and design expertise, Managing Director Chris Vance turned to Jan Plass and Bruce Homer, founding partners of NYU’s Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education (CREATE) “to fine tune specific learning-related design elements,” says Vance. Aiming to “identify design patterns for effective educational games,” CREATE’s joint initiative with Microsoft Research, Games for Learning Institute (G4LI), aligned with Playground Sessions’ innovative design requirements.

Playground Sessions uses a split interface that simultaneously highlights keyboard hand placement, musical notation and video instruction led by the self-taught pianist and YouTube sensation David Sides. “The pedagogy behind Playground Sessions taps into three powerful mechanism for learning—the motivational power of games, the ability of games to engage the learner in meaningful activities that are effective for learning, and the ability to provide detailed performance feedback to players,” explains Dr. Plass.

Organized by level—beginner to advanced—and subject—rhythm, ear training and more—Playground Sessions’ “Bootcamp” lessons appeal to learners of varying styles and preferences. Playground Sessions also allows users to share their scores via Twitter and Facebook or high-kick their skills into action with a collective competition amongst friends. Playground Sessions bolsters confidence through effective and encouraging steps, evidenced by the above video, “Days to Play,” a heartwarming story illustrating the software’s success.

“Games have a number of benefits that make them powerful learning environments with the potential to impact learning. They involve learners in the kind of activities that allow them to develop skills essential for success,” states Dr. Plass. Indeed, it’s with this gaming mentality that Playground Sessions seems to mix a winning formula for a new generation of hyper-stimulated kids and adults burnt out on traditional piano lessons.

During my third semester of college over twenty years ago, I was studying the wrong major at the wrong art school. I remember having a conversation with a professor, explaining my frustrations with a particular assignment and explaining what it was I wanted to do, when she said “Hmm, sounds like you should be studying industrial design instead.” I remember thinking What the hell is “industrial design?”

“Sounds great,” I said, after she finished explaining what it was. “I’ll change majors, I’m in.”

“We don’t offer that program here,” she said. Shortly thereafter I left the school and never went back. Four years later I had a B.I.D. from Pratt (where I met two ne’er-do-wells who would become the founders of Core77).

When did you realize industrial design was the discipline for you? That’s what the IDSA wants to know as part of a research inquiry to teach design education. Take the survey here (and while you’re at it, share in the comments too).

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